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Still wondering why your timeline was full of people dumping ice cold water over themselves last month? They were participating in a viral movement to attract attention and money to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.” It’s unclear how the challenge actually started, as the earliest roots go back to 2013. However, August 2014 was definitely the peak. As of August 29th, the challenge has raised $100.9 million for the ALS Association, not including donations to other ALS research programs. Fortunately, it seems the challenge has winded down and is just about gone from our newsfeeds.

Our MATRIX headquarters in Atlanta participated in the challenge after being nominated by multiple employees. Those employees then nominated the Dallas, RTP, and Houston offices resulting in numerous Ice Bucket Challenge videos and donations throughout the company. To take the challenge a step further, MATRIX vowed to match every dollar that employees donated. So far, MATRIX has raised $2,091 for ALS.

Of course there has been some controversy surrounding the challenge, but that comes with anything that goes this viral. The real question is how did it catch on so quickly?

The reason the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has been able to attract attention from your family, friends, favorite celebrities, and political figures is because it focuses on one thing in a unique and genuine way: people. The challenge is not only entertaining, but it socially bonds us to others who’ve participated while making us feel good inside.

Visit our Facebook page to see all six videos from our offices. Did you participate in the Ice Bucket Challenge? Feel free to share your own photos below!